Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the report this week about the rate of poverty in America is an eye opener. The numbers that have been reported are stunning. The number of Americans living in poverty now stands at 46.2 million people. That is an increase of 8.9 million since 2007, just in 4 years. This has increased significantly since the year 2000. The poverty threshold for a mother and father with two children is an annual income of $22,000 a year. That is less than $2,000 a month. So for that family of four, what we are seeing is 46 million Americans make less than that. I think all of us understand how difficult it is in this day and age to survive and raise a family, but this national poverty rate should be a wake-up call to us. I hope it puts a couple of things in perspective. I spoke on the floor yesterday about visiting a warehouse in Champagne, IL, a warehouse for the food depositories in the area. It is a warehouse where they process and send out food for food pantries that are managed by local groups, churches and the like. Almost every State has them--I am sure they do. I was in this warehouse during the August recess to talk about the increased volume of people who are going to food pantries on a regular basis. I visit these food pantries to introduce myself to those who are coming in and to learn as much as they want to tell me about their circumstances.…”